Writing an author bio examples of professional bios. Paolas images have been exhibited at the united nations, unesco, the field museum chicago, and more. You need to create a brief and compelling author bio for use on your website, book jacket, and press releases. Your books author bio tells potential readers who you are, and why they. She has written 179 books, including over 146 novels based in california for most of her career, steel has produced. Susan bischoff has a simple yet effective biography page. The numbers of talented people who post on the disney blog have begun to grow, so i thought it would be important to set up some sort of permanent introduction to each of them. The author, coauthor or editor of thirteen books, as well as articles in encyclopedias and journals, he has received several awards and prizes, including the grawemeyer prize for the best book on religion published in the 1980s jesus and judaism. However, you also dont want your bio to be devoid of any personality.
As a result shes very polite and famous for her caramel macaroons and devotion to green housecleaning products. His work has been translated into nine different languages. If your book is a comedy, they make your bio humorous. How to write an author bio that sells books ben zackheim. Sep 18, 2017 her hilarious book is all about becoming more selfsufficient, selfaware, and politically active. Author bios fiction by nathaniel heely identity theory. I recently reread one of my favorite books as a child, anne of green gables, and while in the midst of the story i did a little background research on the author, lucy maud montgomery. At writers relief, we know it takes skill and publishing industry savvy to create an author bio that will impress publishing professionals like literary agents, editors, and booksellers and convince readers to buy your book. The bio you write today will look completely different in five years time.
May 19, 2015 alexandra wallner is the author and illustrator of this biographical picture book about lucy maud montgomery, appropriate for ages 4 and older. Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of the man the biography of the man himself cannot be written. All day long, the mill of his brain is grinding, and his thoughts, not those of other things, are his history. Before his death in 2012, nathaniel heely produced a voluminous daily journal on his computer desktop titled in case of amnesia.
In general, a good bio says this author is likable, credible, and can tell a story. May 28, 20 50 great author bios for inspiration posted in inspiration may 28th, 20 by mike brown 5 comments whether you are a designer, writer or an artist, having a portfolio website is a great way to increase your customer base. From there, students can look at a wide variety of resources, including books about childrens authors, encyclopedias, and online databases and directories. The first handful are group biographies, and after that, ive arranged them alphabetically by subject. Famous authors books and biographies of famous authors. Famous authors and writers with their complete biographies and books. Glynnis campbell is a usa today bestselling author of swashbuckling. The biography chronicles montgomerys childhood on prince edward island, canada and the years of hard work it took until she found success as an author with the publishing of anne of green gables. For nonfiction, establishing yourself as an expert and differentiating your book from the others written about the same topic will help sell your book. He is also the author of the bestselling pickwick papers, soon to be adapted into a tv series for amazon prime. Their spirit lives on in the works that they produced in the course of their lives. Or maybe youve spent the last few years giving very popular talks to large groups. After a few years, however, schweikart tired of the road and wanted a more intellectual pursuit.
Use these easytoread bios as a complete course in composers or music historystudying as many or as few composers as you wishor use them as supplemental material in the music classroom. I learned that montgomery was raised by her grandparents on prince edward island, canada, much like. Each and every author on the list of famousauthors. The fact is, author bios are the best way to make yourself compelling to a complete stranger whos thinking about buying your book. Theres something special about rereading a book i loved as a child as an adult.
His group became semifamous, opening for steppenwolf, the james gang, and mothers finest, and drew the attention of billboard magazine. Authors bios paola gianturco, authorphotographer, has documented womens issues in 62 countries. Jonathan swift 1667 1745 angloirish writer born in dublin. In a couple cases, authors have written about their family members, but for the most part, these are books where the focus is on the biographical subject, not the author. Everyday would make a whole book of 80,000 words 365 books a year. Shakespeare is widely considered the seminal writer of the english language.
William shakespeare 1564 1616 english poet and playwright. Jan 16, 2017 this post showcases the best personalbranded book author websites on the market today. We take a look at the key elements of an interesting bio and which details should be omitted. How to write a memorable author bio with template reedsy. Susanna moodie was an englishborn canadian writer who wrote novels, childrens books, and poetry but was most well known for her writings about being a settler in 19th century canada. Its important for indie authors to know how to write an author bio that tells readers. Writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a wellcrafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so interesting. Also, if youve worked for or with very wellknown people, name dropping is not seen. How to write the perfect author bio for your books query letter. Your author bio will continue to change as you work on new projects and build your cv. Her bad bio is strangely both boring and overselling. No marquez has written a bio well, and for this they have been cursed for generations. Firsttime readers glancing at the bio of a new indie author frankly dont want to hear about your first pet or the list of authors who have inspired you to pick up writing. Al berenger is the author of the colorfully illustrated pocket bios seriespocketsize picture book biographies of such historical figures as albert einstein, coco chanel, rosa parks, and muhammed ali among many others.
She hopes you enjoy this piece as much as you would her baking. Sep 14, 2015 while most authors provide neat, tight biographies in the backs of their books, others need no introduction, as their magnificent reputations precede them. Author bios are really no different than any other type writing, except you must think of yourself as the main character. Chungah rhee is the founder, recipe developer, and photographer of damn delicious. The contribution that famous authors have made to literature is incalculable. Great photographic of famous authors and their takes on books. Plus, see our picks for the best biographies and memoirs of the year so far. Her hilarious book is all about becoming more selfsufficient, selfaware, and politically active. If it is a romance, perhaps write about how you met your spouse. Karin tanabe presents herself as a writer in form of an interview. He would like to point out that, although its hard for him to say it with a straight face, hes also an actor.
Our books contact us about bpc return policy manuscript submission book publishing company, po box 99, summertown tn, 38483 orders. While most authors provide neat, tight biographies in the backs of their books, others need no introduction, as their magnificent reputations precede them. How to write a terrific author bio rachelle gardner. In the 1990s, he wrote his own history of american business, the entrepreneurial adventure, then, with michael allen, began work on a larger project, a history of the united states. Some are the best author bios ive read, whereas some feel like they were written by cheap selfpublishing companies. Childrens book author biographies, author study resources, kids book illustrator interviews, and other teacher resources. Good author biographies are so easy to read, but writing the perfect author bio is anything but easy. From a very young age, he fondly remembers visiting. How to write the perfect author bio for your books query. Think about how your friends might describe you or how you might introduce yourself to someone at a networking event because, you know, we all go to such things. If she is not writing, you will find her with a book, guitar or in a thrift shop with a coffee in hand.
Agatha christie is reputably known throughout the world as the queen of crime. A list of famous writersauthorspoets throughout history. The third example shows how part of the back cover copy the author bio, in this case can show up on the inside flap of a hard cover book. What began as a grad school hobby is now a top food blog, with millions of readers coming to her site for easy. Tobias wolffs in the garden of the north american martyrs a book that convinced saunders to study with wolff at syracuse university, where saunders still works today, michael herrs vietnam. For business the short bio can sometimes be more important than whats actually in the bookthe sad but true reality is that more people will read your author bio than your actual book. Once you have written a short, medium and long bio, save each of them on your computer, usb or cloud storage system.
How to write an amazing author bio book marketing for. A sceptics search for health and healing by tim parks, seriously. Author bios might seem like the least important part of a book, but in a crowded anthology packed full of great stories, a good author bio is an effective tool to ensure that readers pick up more of your work. Oct 22, 2015 writing your author bio can be a daunting task, but a wellcrafted bio can help readers learn more about what makes you and your books so interesting. Likability is important, because the reader is going to spend quite a bit of time between the covers with the author. It takes a long time to read a book, but its very easy to make a snap judgment based on a short paragraph, and most people do that. Credible, because the reader wants some sense of authenticity about author, and the book. Book summary and author bio on the back of the book. This article will cover both what you need to include in your author bio and some examples of tight professional bios. She also has the honor of being the most widely translated author. Very few authors over the years have enjoyed crafting bios. How to write an author bio that will help you sell more books. Claire legrand has a very artsy homepage and her biography is professional. Author bios a patriots history of the united states.
She had an essay selected as notable essay for best american essays 2014. The guinness book of records cites her as the second bestselling author of all time, after william shakespeare. Patty somlo has received four pushcart prize nominations and one for storysouths million writers award. Sep 15, 2015 author bios are really no different than any other type writing, except you must think of yourself as the main character. True tales of childhood from famous writers kid legends. Master your mind and defy the odds david goggins, adam skolnick, lioncrest publishing david goggins, adam skolnick, lioncrest. Onepage composer bios is a 100% reproducible book containing brief, informative, and interesting onepage biographies of 50 of historys greatest composers. Here are some reallife author bios that combine most or all of the tips above. The author, co author or editor of thirteen books, as well as articles in encyclopedias and journals, he has received several awards and prizes, including the grawemeyer prize for the best book on religion published in the 1980s jesus and judaism.
How to write your first author bio writing forward. You can speak to your readers in first person on your blog and in your newsletter and. Many authors have different bios on different books because they leave the bio writing to their publisher, which is a huge mistake. Just dont make your bio sound like your book release is the only reason youre on twitter.
Not only is it useful to know what you need to include in an author bio, it is also useful to see examples of how your vital information should look. She is the bestselling author alive and the fourth bestselling fiction author of all time, with over 800 million copies sold. Jul 15, 2016 charlotte mecklenburg librarys collection of author bios. Within only one page, author vince frost leverages a strong use of graphic design to capture interest. True tales of childhood from famous writers kid legends stabler, david, horner, doogie on. Here is a great blog post from rachelle gardner about how to write a terrific author bio. He also includes a list of wellknown authors who have praised his. Author bios are not a place for you to delve into a lengthy explanation of your history. She is the bestselling author alive and the fourth bestselling fiction author of all time, with over 800 million copies sold citation needed. Build a better author bio for twitter jane friedman. Mar 05, 2014 you need to create a brief and compelling author bio for use on your website, book jacket, and press releases.
You can see the difference in the author amanda ripley. Danielle fernandes dominique schueleinsteel born august 14, 1947 is an american writer, best known for her romance novels. With a popular, quirky website, he is a globally recognized. Browse for biographies of leaders and notable people, or historical figures. She has written 179 books, including over 146 novels. Famous person says, jane doe writes books that you wont be able to put down. Joan published her first novel, run, river, while she was associate feature editor at vogue. Here are some examples of author bios we love so you can get some.
The book is excerpted in part here and will be sampled in many literary magazines before its official release, slated for some time in early 2017. You should regularly maintain your bio on places like your bookbub author profile so fans and potential readers seeking you out can learn more about you and why they should pick up your latest book. Be sure to let me know if i missed any this should be on this list. Her books have been translated into more than 103 languages. Literary agents love when writers come with a builtin audience. Sure, bios are usually written in the third person, but we all know that the authors write them.
Biographies and autobiographies of famous childrens authors. The point is to give you an idea of how many different authors did them, so you can find your own author bio writing style. Read about life and works of famous classic, medieval and modern writers. Widely known for the book and miniseries roots as well as the autobiography of malcolm x, alex haley was a u.
Hes writing this while eating a rare steak and parasailing. Learn to write an attractive author bio by following the six rules of author biographies and our breaks down of two professional sample bios. Rick mofina is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row. Author president brad pauquette posted on september 26, 2012 september 26, 2012 categories author bios, bicentennial columbus book john p. Author, the author of new york times bestseller hashtag novel. Bossypants by tina fey, steve jobs by walter isaacson, the diary of a young girl by anne frank, becoming by michelle obama, and ye. Author of from here to there and other stories, somlos second book, hairway to heaven stories, is forthcoming in january 2017 from cherry castle publishing. Famous plays include macbeth, romeo and juliet, merchant of venice and hamlet. Nonfiction back cover copy for nonfiction, establishing yourself as an expert and differentiating your book from the others written about the same topic will help sell your book. Theres nothing wrong with putting your most recent book title in your bio. Over 300,000 authors trust the professionals on reedsy, come meet them. Mar 01, 2019 good author biographies are so easy to read, but writing the perfect author bio is anything but easy.